50 Years of Israeli Occupation, Washington D.C., June 8

A public forum will be held on the Israeli occupation of Palestine in 1967 and the brutal abuse and oppression of Christian and Muslim civilians there.

The event will be held on Thursday, June 8, 2017beginning at 9:30 am at the Canon House Office Building, Room 122.

Despite racist attacks from anti-Arab, anti-Christian and anti-Muslim hate sites like the Washington “Free Beacon,” which distorts Middle East facts to protect the interests of a foreign country, Israel, the event is expected to draw a huge following of individuals seeking the truth about the 1967 Occupation which took place 50 years ago.

Of special emphasis will be the brutal impact and targeting that Israel has had on Christian and Muslim children.

Speakers include:

Omar Shakir, the Israeli and Palestine Director for the highly praised Human Rights Watch, a civil rights organization that seeks to protect the human rights of all people regardless of religion of race

The program will brief attendees on the cost to Americans and the impact the 50 year long Israeli occupation has had on children, who are targeted victims of Israeli military brutality and Israeli settler terrorism.

The briefing is sponsored by the Defense for Children International-Palestine, and the prestigious American Christian American human rights advocacy group American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). AFSC is a Quaker organization devoted to service, development, and peace programs throughout the world. Our work is based on the belief in the worth of every person, and faith in the power of love to overcome violence and injustice.

You can urge your member of Congress to attend the briefing and open their eyes to the propaganda and lies of the pro-Israel lobby which distorts truth about Israel’s human rights violations and about Israel’s violations of International Rule of Law.

Palestinian child marks the end of Ramadan, Eid al Fitr, in the rubble of a playground destroyed by Israel. Copyright (c) 2015 Mohammed Asad. All Rights Reserved. Permission to republish given with full credit to Mohammed Asad and The Arab Daily News.

Ray Hanania is an award winning political columnist and author. He covered Chicago Politics and Chicago City Hall from 1976 through 1992. Hanania began writing in 1975 when he published The Middle Eastern Voice newspaper in Chicago (1975-1977). He later published “The National Arab American Times” newspaper which was distributed through 12,500 Middle East food stores in 48 American States (2004-2007).

Hanania writes weekly columns on Middle East and American Arab issues for the Arab News in Saudi Arabia at www.ArabNews.com, and for TheArabDailyNews.com, and TheDailyHookah.com.

Palestinian, American Arab and Christian, Hanania’s parents originate from Jerusalem and Bethlehem.

Hanania is the recipient of four (4) Chicago Headline Club “Peter Lisagor Awards” for Column writing. In November 2006, he was named “Best Ethnic American Columnist” by the New American Media;In 2009, he received the prestigious Sigma Delta Chi Award for Writing from the Society of Professional Journalists. He is the recipient of the MT Mehdi Courage in Journalism Award. Hanania has also received two (2) Chicago Stick-o-Type awards from the Chicago Newspaper Guild, and in 1990 was nominated by the Chicago Sun-Times for a Pulitzer Prize for his four-part series on the Palestinian Intifada.

His wife and son are Jewish and he performs standup comedy lampooning Arab-Jewish relations, advocating for peace based on non-violence, mutual recognition and Two-States.